Look how Alex handles himself here. He's sincere and humble. Reminds me alot of jrod, the OTHER guy on the site who can dial it in 100%. And seriously, are there more than 2 people that actively post here that we've seen super-shredded like this? That's how rare the phenomenon is. I believe there to be a definite correlation between decency in character and conditioning. The guys that have a chip on their shoulder just don't get into 100% shape like this. I'm sure Alex is indulging here...it's not quite the real world, and I've invited him to give us a glimpse into his mindset, so telling us what he thought about the guy in the locker room, or telling Raging Bull to meet him somewhere is an artificial outlet...it "doesn't count" entirely. The same way that an internet troll would never go up to Alex in real life and so blatantly challenge him. I'm sure you'd NEVER catch Alex behaving this way in real life, but this is a very valuable, honest glimpse into the psychology of a great bodybuilding competitor.
Now as for the way Alex perceives people...you can tell there is a definite bend on his perspective in all this...the story about the guy in the locker room asking him about the protein really sticks out for me. There's no way in hell that guy came at Alex looking the way he does with that much intended malice...but that's the way Alex took him. I wonder if it's a subconscious mechanism for your mind to make "the enemy" out of everything not pushing to the extreme, so as to fuel your competitive pursuit. There must surely be an advantage to adopting a "wartime" mindset during a 100% full-blown prep like this. It's like the point made in Fight Club...we have an evolutionarily-developed instinct to fight for survival and bodybuilding competition is just one more way that some people take on to artificially fill that void. Some people are just wired to overcome hardship and adversity and when there is none, or relatively very little, we do what we must to maintain our sanity.
I'm also pretty sure that being in the depleted state Alex is in heightens your sense of when people are fucking with you. All the little subconscious subtleties that show their resentment of your reaching for more than what is in their comfort zone. Ha ha..."what kind of protein powder do you use?" Like that was a valid question. You don't look at Alex and wonder if it's Weider or Met-Rx that might be doing it for him. So right off the bat that guy's jerking his chain to a certain extent. And when you have to answer poorly focused questions when there is no excess energy to respond in a way that addresses their specific inquiry, but still give them an answer that they are gonna be satisfied with, it's easy to resent them for being so whimsical. Who does that guy think he is to expect Alex to have the time to fiddle with his bullshit, looking like that? As if that guys has EVER seen a guy as conditioned as Alex before in his life. Knowing full well why he isn't in shape...he's probably rarely hungry for more than 30 minutes at a time, and he probably skips most of the exercises for most of the reps that he knows would yield true results. He's just being lazy as fuck in his pursuit, and he's projecting his resentment of his own lack of discipline by subjecting Alex to his ridiculous inquiries. If you've ever spent much time in the upper echelon of human development you know all too well how these things work. Being great is a bitch...not so much for what it takes physically to get there, but when dealing with people. Remember how focused Nasser was in his interview on his disdain for people in general, after looking the way he has for so long. People stop treating you as human after a certain point. Nasser's best friend is his friggin' dog, which he was willing to pay $70,000 dollars for to get in the divorce. This is why. Sato is Nasser's best friend. Looking the way Nasser does, people don't assume you need a thing from them, and assume it's your job to help them...the problem is, you never stop being human...you still have feelings, you still have needs, you still want to have people to talk to that just keep it real. At least for Alex still at this point, he can turn it off at a certain point. He can cover up and stop the comments. For Nasser, there was no place to hide, whether clothed or posing in the gym, so you get a very bitter person when it's all said and done...jaded and alienated from the rest of the world. Adopting the ability to get along with people looking like a pro must be an art in and of itself, and I'm sure it has alot to do with why you rarely find these people in workplace scenarios where they have to deal with "normal" people. It's all just too draining to make it worth it. People seriously don't know how to act around someone looking like an incredibly gifted IFBB pro. I have enough of my own problems operating in a professional environment at my own level of physical development and I'm not even what I'd consider huge OR shredded yet. You really have to adopt a very non-resistant personality, and while you are at work, you ARE DEFINITELY being "paid to fake it." Howie wants to know why an IFBB pro doesn't work. Well this is why. Being in excellent shape can make you feel like the whole world is against you. These points have rarely been addressed on these boards and this is great that we are finally getting around to doing so.
